Jig Fishing May Not Be For Me......... 2024
JimmyKing reply :
I've never fished a jig before and I decided I wanted to give it a try this year so I went out and bought a couple of jigs. The other day I went out and after switching to the jig I managed to get a knot in the line that had to be cut out on only the third cast. Today I decided to go out and give it another try. After getting hung up on something on the bottom I didn't think to check my knot for some reason. On the next cast I lost the jig. Starting to think these may be omens that jig fishing is not for me.
BrianinMD reply :
All that is worth doing takes effort. Jigs are worth the growing pains of getting used to them.
What setup (rod, reel, line) were you using?
J Francho reply :
That could have happened with any bait. Sounds like you just don't want to put the time in to learning them. It takes patience and time on the water, but it's probably the most effective tool for starting to catch bigger bass.
JimmyKing reply :
On 3/14/2013 at 1:32 AM, BrianinMD said:All that is worth doing takes effort. Jigs are worth the growing pains of getting used to them.
What setup (rod, reel, line) were you using?
First day I was using some cheap spincast combo I bought when I first started fishing because someone told me it was good for those starting out (BIG MISTAKE). Today I had it tied on my 6'6 MH BPS Bionic Blade with BPS Pro Qualifier spinner with Trilene XL mono line.
JimmyKing reply :
On 3/14/2013 at 1:40 AM, J Francho said:That could have happened with any bait. Sounds like you just don't want to put the time in to learning them. It takes patience and time on the water, but it's probably the most effective tool for starting to catch bigger bass.
I'm not giving up by any means. Just not a good start to the process.
senile1 reply :
Each to his own, but I won't fish without a jig tied on to at least one rod. It sounds like the issues you encountered had nothing to do with the jig, but were problems with your knots. If you can fish a Texas-rigged worm, you can fish a jig. Hang in there. 
CPBassFishing reply :
Sounds like you have the wrong equipment. Generally jig fishing is done with 20+ pound braid or fluorocarbon. Mono has horrible abrasion resistance in lighter tests. What jigs are you using? If you are using a really cheap or poorly designed jig it won't be as weedless. I like dirty jigs, seibert outdoors, northstar custom baits, and ganns performance tackle when it comes to jigs.
J Francho reply :
I was jigging up fish with a spinning rod and 8# mono before braid or fluoro lines were invented. It can be done. may not be the best way, but it's certainly do able. I'd stick with jigs 1/2 oz. or under.
JimmyKing reply :
Not looking to fish anything too heavy (3/8 at most). I don't know the first thing about braid or fluoro as I've only ever fished with mono.
senile1 reply :
Jimmy, I would suggest that you go to the "Fishing Articles" and the "Videos" tabs at the top of the page and do some reading. I don't know how long you have been bass fishing, but if you are unfamiliar with using lines other than mono, or if you need to learn some different techniques like jig fishing, you will find plenty of information on those tabs for those subjects as well as others. You can also use the search function at the upper right to find subjects of interest in the forums. We are more than willing to answer any questions you have, but the articles and videos can really help too and they may even lead you to other questions that you wouldn't have thought of. Between the articles, the videos, and the forums, you can really learn just about anything you want to learn with regard to bass fishing.
BassKing17 reply :
On 3/14/2013 at 2:05 AM, JimmyKing said:Not looking to fish anything too heavy (3/8 at most). I don't know the first thing about braid or fluoro as I've only ever fished with mono.
Ive finally decided to do away with mono, I fell in love with 15# Braid with a 8-10# fluoro leader.
In a nutshell Fluoro is practically invisible under the surface of the water, it is stronger than mono with less stretch giving you the best feel, it has less memory than mono as well.
georgeyew reply :
On 3/14/2013 at 2:41 AM, BassKing17 said:Ive finally decided to do away with mono, I fell in love with 15# Braid with a 8-10# fluoro leader.
In a nutshell Fluoro is practically invisible under the surface of the water, it is stronger than mono with less stretch giving you the best feel, it has less memory than mono as well.
I believe that most fluorocarbon lines are more difficult to manage than mono lines.
BrianinMD reply :
With flouro there are some more limp but they tend to be the ones which have more stretch than most people believe it will have also. A lot of people have very good luck using KVD L&L to make it easier to manage. I have moved to almost all flouro, except on topwater rods, because the slack line sensitivity is a lot better.
jhoffman reply :
If you arent losing jigs, you arent fishing jigs right. More jig fish for me!
A-Jay reply :
Fishing a jig is not super hard nor does it require highly specialized tackle. On the other hand it's not magic either.
There are some basics that once learned will certainly aid in your success.
There is a bit to it, more than anyone could cover in a paragraph or two. Especially if you're starting pretty much from the beginning.
The advice provided here is solid and reading the articles section (and watching the videos) on BR about the subject is highly recommended.
Learning about when, why, where and how to fish a jig will unlock a whole world to you, that no doubt, lead you to try it in the first place.
A serious benefit to your hard earned efforts is that you may find you'll improve in some of your other angling areas along the way.
Good Luck
A-Jay
TrapperJ reply :
I started Jig fishing for the first time last year. I picked up the KVD swim Jig. mostly cause you can work it like a jig and work it like a spinnerbait with out spinners. Pair that baby with a Rage Craw and practice away. Caught some big fish swimming it and working it like a jig bouncing it off the bottom.
I liked it cause if i got frustrated or tired of crawling it i would just go to fishing it like a spinner bait.
Stick to basic colors, watermelon, PB&J and Black/Blue. Heck just stick to watermelon to keep it extremely simple, that was my go to color last year.
Dont give up yet, jigs catch fish and they catch BIG fish.
PABASS reply :
On 3/14/2013 at 1:48 AM, J Francho said:I was jigging up fish with a spinning rod and 8# mono before braid or fluoro lines were invented. It can be done. may not be the best way, but it's certainly do able. I'd stick with jigs 1/2 oz. or under.
Come on now, your not older then I and while FC and braid may not of been popular for Bass FC was being used in salt water and braid was/is used in Fly lines. I recall when I was 14-16 using braid or at least fireline, couldnt afford the stuff I am sure when I was any younger lol.... Anyway back to the OP, jig fishing takes patients something I don't always have either but its fun when you get bit on a Jig, if you watch any bass torneys thats typically when you see the huge hook sets, its like a touchdown in football at least that's the way it feels to me lol..
The Rooster reply :
On 3/14/2013 at 3:26 AM, jhoffman said:If you arent losing jigs, you arent fishing jigs right. More jig fish for me!
X2! Find a tree laying in the water and throw right in the middle of it! I went many years and wouldn't use a jig because I didn't think I could catch fish on them. I finally tried them for more than just a few minutes a couple of years ago and was instantly hooked hard when I caught 2 keeper bass, back to back on consecutive casts from a lake that catching bass in on anything is notoriously hard to do, and this was in November and cold outside. Now, I'll have one tied on year round from now on, no matter what the season is,
down4ttown reply :
On 3/14/2013 at 1:40 AM, J Francho said:That could have happened with any bait. Sounds like you just don't want to put the time in to learning them. It takes patience and time on the water, but it's probably the most effective tool for starting to catch bigger bass.
This!
I threw a swimbait about a mile and backlashed my reel on my FIRST cast this Sunday. I put down my reel and grabbed another with a jig. Caught 6 in about 4 hours on the river. Not monster numbers but water was about 44 degrees.
Jigfishn10 reply :
JimmyKing just put the past in the past and try again. JF's advice about practice and time spent on the water is dead on. Read up and watch the vids to learn and psyche yourself up and hit it again. As far as your equipment, you're fine, you gotta start somewhere and if you do in fact like jig fishing and feel you can improve on you jig fishing experience, then do some research and get another set up that YOU think will help you.
Good luck out there!
VABassin'14 reply :
On 3/14/2013 at 1:48 AM, J Francho said:I was jigging up fish with a spinning rod and 8# mono before braid or fluoro lines were invented. It can be done. may not be the best way, but it's certainly do able. I'd stick with jigs 1/2 oz. or under.
I agree with this statement. Im a college student, I dont have enough money to have a different set up for each technique I use. I use the same set ups for each technique I fish almost all of the time. 90% of the time I am using my 6' 6' medium heavy rod with my 7.1:1 reel.
Jig fishing is also what I am going to try to focus on this year myself. Keep with it and good luck!
BassThumb reply :
Its sounds to me like you gave up way too soon.
ColdSVT reply :
I hated jigs many years ago....i forced myself go learn them and to get good with them...it was a loooong year but at the end I was hooked on jigs and one will always be handy when im in the boat
the only two colors you need to know at first are black/blue and green pumpkin
J Francho reply :
On 3/14/2013 at 4:41 AM, PABASS said:Come on now, your not older then I and while FC and braid may not of been popular for Bass FC was being used in salt water and braid was/is used in Fly lines. I recall when I was 14-16 using braid or at least fireline, couldnt afford the stuff I am sure when I was any younger lol.... Anyway back to the OP, jig fishing takes patients something I don't always have either but its fun when you get bit on a Jig, if you watch any bass torneys thats typically when you see the huge hook sets, its like a touchdown in football at least that's the way it feels to me lol..
I'm 41. I tried braid back in the 90s, Gorilla Braid, and it sucked. No one had a reel fill fluoro for bass fishing. I don't think it was until the early 2000's I tried something OTHER than Trilene. I think I started with a baitcaster around '85. Before that, all we used for bass were crankbaits, spoons, and jigs. All on mono, all with spinning gear.
WRB reply :
Jimmy your tackle is OK, didn't mention the # test of the mono?
Any jig is only as good as the hook it has, must be extremely sharp all the time.
I have caught a few hundred DD bass using 10 to 12 lbs mono over the past several decades, mono line isn't going to be your problem learning to fish a jig. With the tackle you have use 1/4 and 3/8 oz jigs, the lighter weight helps to keep you from snagging as often.
Can you tell use the name brand of your jig and what type it is? Also what type of water are you fishing; a lake, with rocky, brushy or lots of weeds?
Jigs are effective if you fish them in the right areas, at the right depth where bass are located. Regardless of what has been posted, jigs are not easy to learn to fish and you will missed most of the strikes until your figure out what a strike feels like.
Also what knot do you tie the jig on with?
Tom
mod479 reply :
On 3/14/2013 at 3:26 AM, jhoffman said:If you arent losing jigs, you arent fishing jigs right. More jig fish for me!
You'll have days you're gonna lose some, that's fishing heavy cover. Jigs are pretty cheap, dont bother buying fancy ones 'til you get more comfortable.
If you really want to learn, get the cheapest ones you can find and just throw them all day. Don't bring any other tackle, force yourself to stay out and lose them all, or catch fish trying. Even if you don't catch a fish, you'll be a better jig fisherman at the end of the day. Sooner or later, you're gonna get bit.
After doubting yourself, I'll bet you remember your first good jig bass for some time too.
rmcguirk reply :
As others have said, stick with it. I did last year, and it was by far my most productive big-fish technique. It takes time to learn, but keep at it.
Diggy reply :
I know how you feel. I hate losing them also, especially on the 1st cast. My friends lake is so rocky I don't even bother there...doesn't matter what type of head is on the jig, so I just use soft plastics. I am getting better since I have been practicing in other lakes. When you catch a fish on one, you feel accomplished. I had the best luck starting off on the bitsy jigs, gaining confidence and working my way up.
haydenf96 reply :
This is from Joe S. not me. But it is brilliant and I love it. Dont give me credit for it. But if you need any help pm me.
Joe S.-
Here's a little piece I put together, The jig is my favorite lure to fish because of it's versatlity.
Representation,
First let's start with what a jig represents underwater, I believe the most
Popular use of it is to imitate a Crayfish but they also can imitate baitfish as well.
Jigs come in many different shapes, sizes and colors etc. The most popular crayfish imitators seem to be the good old skirted jig usually tipped with some sort of plastic or pork trailer.
Speaking of sizes, shapes, colors, I'm only going to really get into the skirted jig with a plastic or pork trailer as this is the bait I primarily use, and use it as a crayfish imitator only.
Sizes,
There is a very large size range available,
I mainly use 3 sizes of Jigs in my arsenal or depending on manufacturer the closest weight to these sizes 3/8 oz , ½ oz and ¾ oz.
I will mainly use a 3/8oz when fishing really shallow. The presentation has more time to be subtle because of the lighter weight than just crashing on the bottom in the shallow water.
1/2 oz. Jig
This is my go to, if there was only one jig weight aloud in my box, this would be it. I guess you could say the happy medium. I fish this 99 percent of the time from a regular bank down to 15 ft and anything in between.
The only time I go to a 3/4 oz. Is if I need to get through some thick weeds, the wind is really blowing or I am fishing dep but want to fish it faster than normal.
Colors,
I don't get crazy on colors when it comes to jigs. I have 3 colors that I have a ton of confidence in and those are Browns, Greens, and Black. It seems the jig has excepted rules on what colors for what conditions were faced with, green or brown, natural colors for clearer water and black or darker colors for murkier water or night time. I do follow that to a point but not because of the rule but because I have confidence in throwing those baits in those conditions. Ive caught fish in clear water with a black jig and fish in murky water and at night with a green jig so what's that tell us. Color is confidence in my book.
Trailers/Chunks
These come in many shapes and sizes, Most of them are made to represent the pincher end of the crayfish which are either threaded or simply hooked on to the jig.
I go rather simple in this area as far as selection.
I mainly use 3 colors in 2 sizes, Green, Brown and Black in 2 or 3 sizes I always match the color of the trailer with the jig, (just a confidence thing)
I will normally start off fishing with a 2 trailer in tournaments, I feel the smaller size may get me more bites in order to get my limit then I may upgrade trailer size to go after larger fish, but there is no rule here either, as I have caught fish over 6lbs. on 2 trailers and fish less than 12 on 3 trailers.
As far as the many styles and brands of trailers, my selection is simple I use my own, I feel they give me the best chances of catching fish and here is why: When a bass hits a jig they will normally engulf the whole lure, Jig and trailer. It only takes a split second for that fish to reject the bait if it notices anything artificial about it. When I make my trailers I add a lot of crayfish oil to the plastic prior to cooking then once poured they go through a 2 stage salting process. Once you get a fish to bite them they are hard pressed to let it go because there is so much taste for them. Because there is so much craw oil in the plastic it makes the baits very soft which helps release the oils and salt when the bait is bitten. (Shameless Plug I know, but the truth as well)
The Bite!
I have been fishing a jig predominantly for the last few years and have probably experienced every type of bite possible, but then again maybe not, sometimes you don't feel anything at all, then sometimes they almost rip the rod out of your hand, and then you have everything in between, you must always be ready to set the hook.
It is a must to be a line watcher when fishing a jig because you may not always be in direct contact with the lure, and the little twitch in the line that you didn't see could have been a 10 fish or the fish of a lifetime.
One thing I really like to do is know the depth of the water I'm casting to, I feel this is very important, a ½ oz jig on 15lb mono sinks at about 1ft per second. So I know if I'm casting it into 12ft of water and the line stops sinking when I count to 6, something sucked it in, reel in any slack and set the hook.
This is where I believe salts and scents are very handy, normally when I'm fishing a jig I'm fishing some type of structure, rocks, wood, grass, etc. with the equipment on the market you can pretty much feel everything the lure bumps into, when first getting into jig fishing I might have questioned myself was that a fish or a rock, don't know for sure. But now using my own baits and good equipment as well as a lot of time fishing the jig, I have the confidence in them to know that when I feel that little bump, I can pause and wait a second or two to see if there is any activity or lack there of on the end of the line before ramming the hook into a nice bass, or a stump.
Equipment:
For fishing these type and size of jigs, I use a 7' Heavy action bait casting rod, I feel this is very important and will not use a Jig on anything lighter, for a few reasons, 1.) These jigs normally have stout hooks that require a decent amount of force to get good penetration. I don't want to take the chance of losing a big fish because my rod didn't have enough power to drive the hook home, 2.) You have the weed guard to deal with as well when setting the hook. 3.) A lot of times the bass will really clamp down on a jig to crush it making it harder to move the jig on the set to get a good hook set, I noticed this especially with small mouth bass. As for the brand of rod that is personal preference but I think you should get the best you can afford in this area or the added sensitivity.
For a reel, I prefer High speed reels 6.1:1 or 6.3:1 and a decent amount of line retrieval per handle turn. I like this because I can pick up any slack really fast as well as keep up with the fish if it is charging towards me. This is another brand preference issue, I prefer smaller profile reels so I can palm the reel and rest the line going into the reel on my pointer finger for extra sensitivity.
Line
I mainly use 15 lb test mono line for most jig fishing, I don't really go any lighter than that, I will go heavier for certain situations depending on a few factors, structure or cover that I'm fishing, or even the size of the fish I have a chance at catching will dictate the size. In really clear water I will use fluorocarbon line for reduced visibility. And if I need to go above 20 lb mono for any reason I will switch to a braid for line diameter purposes. You can use any of the three all the time, these are just my preferences and how I utilize each for certain situations.
This is not intended to be a know all of Jig fishing document, these are the ways and equipment I personally like to use and have confidence in for the situations I face,(Notice the title) there are so many variables in fishing that could call for a different tactic from the lure type and size, to the tackle and line, it would be impossible to list them all.
Some techniques I use...
When I make a cast I let the bait sink, you must always watch your line, a lot of times they will hit it on the initial fall and your line will either twitch, stop before it should, or start going sideways, when this happens reel up the slack and set the hook. If the bait makes it to the bottom I will wait about 3 or 4 seconds and then drag it about 6-8 inches (Right now he's just cruising on the bottom), then pause, after 3-4 seconds drag again, and repeat this. Once I feel any obstruction, I pause then shake without dragging, I feel this simulates the crayfish trying to burrow under whatever obstacle it just bumped into. Then I give it 2 quick very short snaps, this would simulate the crayfish fleeing from a predator, then let it hit bottom and repeat the whole process. A lot of times right after the pause when you go to drag again it will feel heavy, set the hook. Hook sets are free, If you haven't fished a jig a lot , it takes time before you can get a really good handle on determining fish bites from obstructions. Practice makes perfect and when in doubt set the hook.
That's for mostly open water hump style fishing and beating a bank. In cover I like to throw it in the nastiest stuff possible and shake it around then repeat casting to it (pretty much pick it to pieces.)
Don't ever think there is such a thing as to shallow, I use to cast to about a foot off shore till a guy on the back of my boat beat me bad, the fish were in that spot right on the bank, now I cast to were I'm pretty much hitting the shoreline.
JimmyKing reply :
On 3/14/2013 at 7:41 AM, WRB said:Jimmy your tackle is OK, didn't mention the # test of the mono?
Any jig is only as good as the hook it has, must be extremely sharp all the time.
I have caught a few hundred DD bass using 10 to 12 lbs mono over the past several decades, mono line isn't going to be your problem learning to fish a jig. With the tackle you have use 1/4 and 3/8 oz jigs, the lighter weight helps to keep you from snagging as often.
Can you tell use the name brand of your jig and what type it is? Also what type of water are you fishing; a lake, with rocky, brushy or lots of weeds?
Jigs are effective if you fish them in the right areas, at the right depth where bass are located. Regardless of what has been posted, jigs are not easy to learn to fish and you will missed most of the strikes until your figure out what a strike feels like.
Also what knot do you tie the jig on with?
Tom
10 lb mono is the line. I know this line is fine because I caught several nice sized bass last year using it with weightless senkos. The jig was a Luck E Strike I picked up at wally world to get me started. The couple lakes I fish have lots of weeds. I use a polymer knot. As far as the people saying I gave up too easily I am not giving up trying to learn I just had to quit for the day today because I lost the only jig I had.
SirSnookalot reply :
Bucktail jigs are a mainstay in saltwater, I never did much jig fishing in fresh until this year. This past January for about a month straight I used a jig and trailer, everyday I was catching bass form 3-8# using a 30 size shakespere spinning reel on a med rod, 15# braid and 10# leader, specialized equipment was not required for me. I used a different trailer almost everyday and my catch rate was always about the same. Very productive method but I've given it up, I just don't like fishing slow.
jhoffman reply :
Here ya go bud.... perfect timing
Bass pro has their gamakatsu hook jig on sale for $1.97 with no minimum $5 shipping
http://www.basspro.com/Bass-Pro-Shops-Enticer-Pro-Series-Rattling-Jig/product/15465/
http://www.basspro.com/Bass-Pro-Shops-Enticer-Pro-Series-Football-Jigs/product/90782/
I have an entire 3700 series box choked full of jigs and another full of hair jigs... thats how many i plan to lose at any given time. I believe in a jig so much I never want to be in the situation you were in.
People thought you gave up based on your title... jig fishing might not be for me!
WRB reply :
Fishing jigs from shore in cover (weeds) with spinning tackle isn't easy for a few reasons; you must retrieve the jig up hill or from deeper water towards shallow water and jigs tend to snag easily worked up hill. The other problem is trying to work the jig through weeds without a boat is difficult using a traditional Arkie head style jig with a weed gaurd.
You will have more success using a grass style jig with a head that is shaped like a bullet or use a pegged bullet weight and Teaxs rig a soft plastic craw type trailer, this works very good is weeds.
Good luck.
Tom
cdaggett reply :
I would just pitch or flip instead of making long casts
Fishes in trees reply :
Jimmy, I think you're right. If you are bugged by losing a couple of jig, jig fishing isn't for you. Jig fishing is hard. To paraphrase Homer Simpson, " If something is hard, it probably isn't worth doing."
Trying to learn to jig fish will just open up another can of worms, so to speak.
Please be aware that by not learning jig fishing, you are skating on your responsibilities as a bass fisherman, which are to frequently buy more tackle, own much more tackle than you "need" and in that way support the entire bass fishing industry. Just saying.
PABASS reply :
On 3/14/2013 at 7:20 AM, J Francho said:I'm 41. I tried braid back in the 90s, Gorilla Braid, and it sucked. No one had a reel fill fluoro for bass fishing. I don't think it was until the early 2000's I tried something OTHER than Trilene. I think I started with a baitcaster around '85. Before that, all we used for bass were crankbaits, spoons, and jigs. All on mono, all with spinning gear.
Your a tad bit older then I, I do remember gorilla braid and I think spider wire came out after that but you had to take out a loan to buy it. All I ever used was 8# mono stren until I tried fireline in the 90s I used black fireline on my Calcutta and now use white on allot of my gear.
BassinB reply :
Don't give up on it. The biggest bass I have caught have been on jigs. Heres a video I made explaining what types I use in different situations:
WRB reply :
When you read through this thread there is some constructive replays and some that are not related to the question or topic and a few off the wall, typical of forums responses.
This angler isn't exactly a beginning angler, however his tackle limits how he can fish a jig, we have all been there at some point in time.
For example pitching a jig is simply a short accurate cast that limits how much water anyone cover from shore.
Flipping requires specialize long heavy action rod, no reel is needed unless you fish a tournament, the 2 presentations are very different, but often used out of context. Jimmy has light tackle to fish his jigs with, the presentations must match his tackle and method of fishing.
I fully agree that light braid would be a good choice, if his rod and reel is made for braid, we do not know that from the information given. Braid could destroy his rod guides and reel bale roller for example.
Lifting a 2 lbs bass out of the water with a medium spinning rod could break the rod, there are limitations to what can be accomplished, when that becomes apparent, new tackle usually resolves that problem.
After a few years we all end up with more tackle than we use and keep looking for more....that's bass fishing.
Tom
HeavyDluxe reply :
This thread is full of unicorn magic and awesome. Uh, or something like that.
Jigfishn10 reply :
Tom, this train ran off the tracks a few times.
roadwarrior reply :
I don't know...I like jigs so much I often fish them even when I know something else would be a better choice!
However, I'm going to offer you different advice: stick with soft plastics, weightless or T-rigged and always
weedless.
First of all, if you are worried about losing jigs, they will never work out for you. My motto is "If you're not getting
hung-up, you're in the wrong spot!" From a boat and with a lure retriever, recovery rate is high, but from the bank,
low.
Second, although it's probaby true that many guys have caught their biggest bass on jigs or even most of their big
bass on jigs, you still have a good chance of catching these same fat girls on soft plastics alone. Right now isn't the
best time of year for traditional jigs anyhow. I do like swimming jigs in the spring, but anything "moving' tends to be
productive now. Right now the reservoirs of the Tennessee River are on fire and the lures of choice are Red Eye
Shad, jerkbaits and The Rig.
jignfule reply :
I wouldn't give up on jigs. They're too much a part of bass fishing imo. Learn as much as you can with videos, books, articles, forums. Then keep fishing jigs at times. You can learn a lot about the feel of a jig even when not catching a fish. One of the reasons I love bass fishing so much is because of the jig. If I stuck with senko all the time I would probably quit fishing.
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